Persons confined to a wheelchair or a bed often suffer from pressure-induced ulcerations of the skin, commonly called bedsores, at high points on their bodies which support a large proportion of their weight. These bedsore contact points are typically on the upper portion of the back, the shoulders, the buttocks and often the thighs and calves. Bedsores can be very serious because the subsurface muscles, as well as the surface sores, may become infected.
One method for reducing bedsores of bedridden patients is through the use of articulated beds. Changing the shape of the bed support surface shifts the patient's weight on the patient's back and side. However these beds typically do not eliminate the pressure on the contact points but only change the amount of the weight on the contact points.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,141,094, suggests the use of a harness to lift a wheelchair bound patient a small distance to relieve the pressure on the spine and buttocks. However, the harness disclosed relies upon support straps placed between the juncture of the upper thighs and the buttocks so that pressure on possible bedsore contact points is not eliminated.
Other apparatus for lifting and carrying bedridden and wheelchair bound patients generally use some type of a sling for supporting the patient during lifting and transportation. However, these slings also generally support the patient at bedsore contact points so that such devices would not be useful in relieving the body pressure on the contact points at which bedsores can occur. Such slings are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,962,730; 3,137,011 and 4,070,721.
What is needed, but not found in the prior art, is apparatus for lifting a patient a short distance from a bed or a wheelchair which includes a sling supporting the patient at points other than the normal contact points between the patient's body and the bed or wheelchair.